keyframe
by Say-It
Summary: Their eyes met – a clash of violet and amber – and in that moment he knew something had changed.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: K belongs to GoRa Project and the definition of keyframe belongs to The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows.

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_**keyframe**: _n. _a moment that seemed innocuous at the time but ended up marking a diversion into a strange new era of your life..._

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A young man stood outside a small pub in downtown Shizume's east district, quietly observing the rundown building flaking with chipped paint. After a few moments, he walked away with his hands in his pockets, not once looking back.

Within a month, he had purchased the abandoned bar and began renovations on the failing walls and rickety roof. The bar was renamed HOMRA and officially opened its doors a year later in the spring, enticing customers with its rich, smoky atmosphere, its previous state long forgotten.

On the same day, Munakata Reisi moved to Shizume and enrolled into Noboru Academy.

* * *

HOMRA had frequent visitors, although only one loitered around the bar everyday from four in the afternoon to the late evening, sometimes even until its closing in the early hours of the morning. Suoh Mikoto made himself at home, leaning against the counter as he watched his friend mix a drink, a bored expression on his face. He attended Shizume High, a decent public high school four blocks away from the bar his close friend opened. He spent most of his time lounging on the couch in the bar's dim lighting, although there were times when his friend managed to persuade him to roam the city for a few hours. Those days he would wander aimlessly around the city, sometimes going as far as the upper, west district filled with high-end shops and expensive restaurants. There were more than a few times he passed Norobu Academy, a private high school which he assumed to be for the offspring of the affluent and affected residents of Shizume. He never gave the school so much as a passing glance every time he strolled by. Gradually, Suoh roamed the city less and less, taking more to reclining on HOMRA's couch. His friend eventually stopped nagging him to "go outside and get some fresh air," and Suoh's place on the couch became a permanent one.

* * *

Upon enrolling into Norobu Academy for his second year of high school, Reisi Munakata became director of the student council and head of the disciplinary committee. He was intelligent, level-headed, and exhibited qualities of becoming a great leader. After school hours were spent in the council room where he oversaw the planning of school events. His responsibilities constantly kept him busy, and even months after his arrival, he had never traveled outside of Shizume's west district.

It was an unusually chilly day when Munakata found himself outside his school gate a little after the last bell, signaling the end of the school day. With the closure of his school's cultural festival, he found himself with more free time than he had in the last month all together. No specific objective in mind, he ambled down the streets and took a subway downtown. The heart of the city was bustling with traffic and blurs of people moving past each other in opposite directions. The commercial buildings towered over the streets, the colorful billboards scraping the sky. He continued strolling down the sidewalk alongside several restaurants, the aroma of delectable food wafting out the door. He stopped briefly outside a small bar that remained closed until later in the evening, taking a moment to admire the building's tasteful façade before moving onward. After another hour of exploring, he started to head back toward the subway station when there was a sudden commotion. An ambulance raced down the street, stopping when it reached the hospital across the road. The paramedics jumped out of the ambulance, unloading a stretcher carrying an unconscious, teenage boy with a heavily bandaged arm and leg and rushed him into the building through the side entrance. Munakata watched silently, the red lights flashing across his face and the loud sirens in his ears before turning and walking the rest of the distance to the subway station.

Suoh and his friend ran in the hospital doors moments later.

* * *

On the last day of school before summer vacation, Suoh ditched class and headed for the bar when he remembered his friend was off gallivanting with some nondescript girl. He spent most of the morning straying around town, inhaling Popsicle after Popsicle more out of boredom than to ease the heat. It had been rather hot the past few weeks – although the heat failed to affect him – given his friend's complaining and blasting the air conditioner. In the afternoon, he ended up walking to the Shizume's central building, a towering skyscraper with a giant television screen mounted high on its side. The center was built mainly for tourists; its information desks stacked with tour guide books and flyers to the city's main attractions. He walked up to a small convenience counter selling an array of snacks and purchased a pack of cigarettes. He made his way to the open area of the lobby and slouched down on a wooden bench. He reached into the right pocket of his pants, and then promptly fished around in his left pocket, groaning upon realizing he had forgotten to bring his lighter. His head lolled back against the wooden bench, and he stared at the blue sky through the glass ceiling, the sunshine streaming down on him. He closed his eyes for a minute, peacefully enjoying the warmth coursing through his body before standing up once again to buy another lighter. He wormed his way through the growing amount of people when someone awkwardly brushed against him, dislodging his pack of cigarettes and sending it to the ground. Suoh turned around to see someone reaching over to pick up the pack of cigarettes.

"Ah, excuse me. I apologize for that," the calm voice said.

* * *

"Ah excuse me." Munakata bent over and picked up the object he knocked from a person's pocket, his fingers wrapped around the cigarette pack. "I apologize for that." He looked up, starting to hand over the packet and found himself staring into a pair of startling, amber eyes.

_._

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A/N: Attempting to add to the small amount of MikoRei fanfics out there. Hoping to make it out alive unscathed – and by that I mean actually finish writing a chapter story for once in my life. I may come back and edit this chapter later because I am sorely unsatisfied with it. Anyway, give me some of your feedback – both good and bad. :)


	2. Chapter 2

Munakata exited the stifling, subway car onto the landing platform, worming his through the endless stream of people and out into the bright daylight. Downtown Shizume was alive in endless chatter of people moving to and fro along the sidewalks and bustling streets honking with car horns. The searing heat of the cars' exhaust rolled along the sun scorched pavement in waves before rising and dissipating, filling the air with thick plumes of gasoline. Munakata walked quietly among the crowd, his eyes skirting up and alongside the towering sky rises, the sun reflecting off of his glasses. He paused briefly outside of a bar, one that he remembered from his previous visit a few months prior, and peered inside its dark windows. The overhead fan was on, still spinning in a slow and lazy fashion, turning round and round.

He hadn't planned to spend his day wandering the streets but had felt a feeling akin to restlessness while packing his bag the end of school. He abandoned his previous plans to return home and finish the book he had put on the counter and left school, taking a right turn instead of left, heading toward the subway station. His school bag was impossibly light, and it was as if he felt almost anticipation for something to happen.

His warm breath fogged up the glass and he took a step backward, craning his neck to catch the bar's name and once then again resumed walking to a new destination.

He eventually walked to Shizume's central building in search of relief from the sweltering heat of the city. It too was overcrowded, mostly with tourists still wearing their sunglasses indoors and fanning themselves with their colorful brochures. He weaved through the mass of people, careful not to rub against the backs of t-shirts damp with sweat. As he neared a small convenience counter, his arm brushed against someone, sending something skidding across the floor. He bent down to retrieve it from the marble tiles, his voice apologetic, "Ah, excuse me. I apologize for that." When he looked up, his hand holding out the packet of cigarettes, he found himself staring into a pair of startling, amber eyes.

* * *

Suoh stared at him and then at the hand that reached across the distance between them, his lost cigarettes sitting in its palm. Suoh reached out and plucked them from the other's grasp, and the long, slender fingers instantly retracted back to the other's side.

"Thanks," Suoh finally said with a slight inclination of his head, eyes never leaving the stranger's face.

"There's no need. I'm terribly sorry for the inconvenience."

He watched as the stranger nodded in farewell, a polite smile donning his face, and walked past Suoh, the fabric on their shoulders barely brushing. He moved through the crowd seamlessly, fluidly, not once bumping into another person. Suoh continued to watch until he had disappeared completely, leaving not a single trace as if he were never there at all.

Suoh thought, long after he purchased a replacement lighter and lit the cigarette between his lips, that there was something off about the person that bumped into him. Gray wisps of smoked trailed into the air, rising higher into the sky like cirrus clouds before disappearing completely. He took another long drag before dropping the lit joint to the floor and crushing it with the heel of his foot.

The polite smile, Suoh realized, didn't match the look in his eyes.

* * *

Munakata removed himself from the other's gaze as quickly as possible. He felt an unfamiliar feeling of agitation increasing steadily, settling in the slight furrow of his eyebrows and his hard-set jaw. Even on the subway heading home, he couldn't shake the unsettling feeling.

* * *

He was draped across the leather couch, staring blankly at the rapidly spinning ceiling fan while a half-smoked cigarette dangling precariously from his finger tips.

"Agh! There's ash all over my hardwood floors!"

Suoh ignored his friend's entrance, and draped an arm over his eyes. There were sounds of muttered curses and a broom being swept across the floor.

"Oi, if you're not going to smoke that, put it out so it doesn't mess up my floor."

"Noisy…" Suoh murmured. When he glanced over, his friend looked rather irritated, his arms crossed. "What?"

"You haven't moved from that spot for days!" He cried exasperatedly, throwing his hands into the air.

"I'm taking a nap."

His friend only sighed and shook his head, dark blond locks sweeping across his forehead, before walking away. Suoh slowly rose to a sitting position, his left hand snaking up his t-shirt to scratch his torso. A glimpse at the clock told him it was five minutes to four in the afternoon. After a few moments, he stood up, slumping ever so slightly. Thumbs hooking to his front pockets, he made his way to the door.

The air was significantly hotter outside the bar, though Suoh didn't mind. A warm summer breeze caressed his neck, and cicadas buzzed in the silence of an unusually quiet afternoon. Shizume's streets were less crowded than they were a few days earlier, the intense heat forcing people to retreat into the cool comfort of their homes. He milled around the city for a while then made his way down to the deserted bay, his shoes crunching on gravel and loose pebbles with every step. Seagulls flew overhead, squawking to each other in the open sky. The sea was a calm, deep blue, not a single wave to be seen. Suoh leaned forward against the railing, some of its bars rusting and weather-beaten. He inhaled the salty air, closing his eyes and popping his shoulders with a languid roll. When he opened his eyes and reached for his pack of cigarettes, he glanced to his right and paused. There was a lone figure a ways off in the distance. He was not alone.

* * *

Munakata spent the following days reading and watching the news, only heading out for strolls in the evening when the temperature had cooled and for the sake of replenishing his fridge when groceries ran low. The routine had been calming and a necessity after his most recent outing, but over the course of a few days, he once again began to feel strangely restless and needed relief away from his home and the polished suburbia of the west district. The ride downtown was peacefully quiet with the majority of the population opting to stay indoors, hiding away from the ruthless heat. Downtown Shizume was similar in fashion. All signs of activity were significantly reduced to a minimum, even in the central building. He felt a fleetingly annoyance when he found himself standing outside the building once more, but dismissed the thought and walked away. Eventually, the afternoon sun's rays beating down on him border lined unbearable, and he headed toward the bay where the air was much cooler. It seemed he was the only one there which he was grateful for. He leaned forward on his forearms; his eyes watching the seagulls swoop down and skim the water's surface with their white wings. He felt more at ease than he had in the past few days as he let himself be lulled into a sense of serenity.

He realized he had lost track of time when he saw his elongated shadow along the gravel path. As he looked down to check his watch, a sound of crunching gravel grew nearer and nearer. Distracted, Munakata glanced up from his wristwatch only to stiffen upon realizing who it was.

* * *

As he neared him, Suoh's lips drew into a lazy smirk and regarded him through half lidded eyes. "Hn, if it isn't four-eyes again."

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A/N: Chapter one has also been edited, although the changes were minor. Did you recognize who was in the ambulance? I was wonder if my implication was obvious enough. I may edit this chapter later on as well. Feedback for this chapter is greatly appreciated. :)


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